One of ACCO Brands’ oldest brands, Derwent®, has a heritage that dates back to 1832, when it was founded in the United Kingdom. Since then, the brand, which offers premium quality art materials, has held its operations primarily in Lake District, Cumbria, U.K.
However, given its extensive history and success in the U.K., in 2017, a push to drive marketing efforts into the United States developed.
“Historically, Derwent was distributed by art distributor MacPherson. We are continuing our relationship with MacPherson, but we are beginning to work with some of the major art retailers, such as Blick Art Supplies and Hobby Lobby, directly,” U.S. Derwent Marketing and Sales Director, Anna Clarke said. “This allows us to have more control over promoting the brand within U.S. retail locations, as well as online. Derwent has a strong brand presence in the U.K., and the U.S. team looks forward to driving demand in the U.S.”
These efforts have taken the form of employing contests, securing high visibility product placement in major U.S. retail stores, and attending conferences that showcase the brand’s products, among others.
Derwent launched its fifth installment of the Derwent Art Prize, an art competition aimed at showcasing the best artwork created in pencil by British and international artists. However, this year, a key goal of the contest involved raising awareness of the Derwent brand internationally and with ACCO Brands’ key retail partners.
This specific marketing effort, among a number of others, has greatly increased brand awareness and supported ACCO Brands’ business in the Art category, yielding an undeniable business benefit.
Because of its success in 2019, additional initiatives are in the works to continue increasing awareness in the U.S. in 2020 and beyond.
Derwent is exhibiting at the NAMTA conference in April 2020, where the U.S. team will have the opportunity to showcase the brand’s products to international retail sellers, supplier manufacturers and distributors at their own booth, thus further increasing awareness through networking, and profitability through potential sales.
Derwent plans to continue expanding its global presence in the future, leading to increased awareness and sales of a brand with an extensive positive reputation in the art world.
